screamin' and fightin' and kissin' in the rain
by leastcommonmultiple
Summary: She's over him and she has Sam now, and he's perfect and sweet and nice and he gave her a promise ring and he said that he loves her okay?
1. Chapter 1

**I MISS QUICK.**

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Quinn can feel his eyes on her, but she refuses to look at him. He's across the hall, and he's just _staring_, and she wishes he wouldn't. She's over him and she has Sam now, and he's perfect and sweet and nice and he gave her a promise ring and he said that he loves her okay? Thinking about it puts another memory into her mind; a hospital, a baby, a question, an answer that she sure as hell wasn't expecting. Quinn closes her locker abruptly, a book tucked under her arm. As she walks down the hall, an arm snakes around her waist. With surprise, she looks up into Sam's smiling face. (No, she doesn't wish it was someone else. Seriously.)

"Hey babe." He squeezes her against him gently. (She's not thinking about the last guy who called her babe, no way.)

She faintly smiles back, clearing her head of memories of _him_, even though she knows he's still staring. She focuses on Sam, resting her head on his shoulder. He's adorable and has a great singing voice, but in the back of her head, she knows that applies to him too, and she starts picturing tan skin and a mohawk... (Okay, so maybe she's not as over him as she wishes she was. But he's over her, no matter how much he stares, even if he did look at her while singing, _You are the only exception_, and so what if he practically sang _Only the Good Die Young _to her? She knows he's been with Sa(n)tan(a) recently and she wishes he would just get out of her brain because it's freaking distracting.)

She walks down the hall with him, liking how everyone stares at them and passes out of their way; the new power couple of the school. It was just like this with Finn, at least, until they joined Glee. But, God knows how, she actually likes Glee club now, and there are barely any more slushies being thrown around. She can hear Sam talking about some video game, but she's not really listening, only making approving noises every now and then. For some reason, she starts thinking about Super Mario, and really, she has no idea why but she'd rather Sam talk about that instead. (It's because she knows more about it. No, it's not because he used to talk about it all the time, and it's not like she was ever listening. She just knows it because it's _Mario_, and who doesn't know about Mario?)

Suddenly, Sam lets go, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "See you after school?" He walks into his class, pausing in the doorway to wave at her.

She nods, smiles, walks away. She doesn't feel like going to Spanish, not now. It's not like it's really relevant, and Mr. Schuester has been really understanding lately. She can just chalk it up to sudden sadness, because no matter how much she tries to hide it, Mr. Schue still looks at her like she could burst into tears at any moment, so she might as well use it to her advantage. Anyway, she's practically acing that class. (She wonders where _he _is now. Probably skipping class. God, his influence on her is horrible.)

She wanders aimlessly down the hall, finding herself gravitating towards the choir room. Glee saved her last year, and she made some friends that she never would have thought of before. She didn't know how she would have survived without Mercedes, and Tina and Kurt were great, once you got past thinking about them as the emo girl and the gay guy. Honestly though, the people in it aren't half bad. (Except for Berry, Quinn can't stand her.)

Quinn hears the piano and wonders if Brad is there. She looks in and is surprised to see _him _there. (That wasn't a flutter in her stomach, she's just hungry, okay?)

He's playing a haunting tune on the piano, humming along under his breath. It sounds familiar, but she can't quite place it. She debates leaving, but her curiosity gets the best of her and she ends up sitting beside him on the piano bench. (It's not her heart talking, it's her _brain_. It's because she's curious, not anything else.)

He looks at her, startled. "Quinn? Why aren't you in class?"

The familiarity of his voice (god, she missed that voice), the closeness of their bodies, and oh, she's just staring and he's staring back and she's closing the distance between their faces and no, she can't do this, but damn does she want to and then they're just kissing and wait, this shouldn't be happening, she has Sam but it feels so good, so _right_...

She pushes him away, but doesn't move from her seat.

"Quinn?" He sounds more confused then ever, and she knows if he looks at him, he'll have that look on her face and oh god, she's in deeper than she ever realized.

"Why haven't you been talking to me?" Her voice breaks, and she looks him in the eyes, his beautiful eyes, and she needs to stop getting so off track, she can't even _think _straight when she's around him, that's what lead to _Beth _and that name is enough to start the tears welling up in her eyes and suddenly she's just crying into his arms.

"Don't cry, I'm sorry. Just don't... don't cry." He hugs her, and her body relaxes into him, like they were once molded together. (And she thinks, they once were.)

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**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**SO THIS IS MY FIRST GLEE FIC, AND I'D LOVE SOME CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS YOU WANT WRITTEN OUT, I'D BE GLAD TO GIVE IT A TRY.**


	2. Chapter 2

Puck can't help it. He's angry; he comes back from juvie expecting her to run into his arms, but instead she's fucking frolicking around the halls with the freaking Barbie doll blonde boy with huge lips. (He bets he's a better kisser than that loser anyway.)

His first day back is supposed to be _his _day, but instead he sees his girl with someone else. He ends up spending a whole lotta time with Artie instead. (He needs community service, it's not like he actually likes the guy.)

He ends up freaking out in Figgins' office and surprisingly, Artie is the one who offers to help him. (Okay, so maybe he isn't too bad. He's a little nerdy, but he's okay. And no, it's not because he's _jealous _of fishlips or anything, he just doesn't want to go back to juvie where they take his waffles.)

He barely acknowledges Quinn, instead choosing to be with Santana. He figures, if she wants him, she can come and get him. (He's chased after her too many times, and he might as well realize that he'll never be her first choice.)

He fantasizes about her begging for him to take her back. In his mind, beach boy turns out to be gay and Puck laughs vindictively, leaving her to make out with Santana. (Seriously though, what straight guy has hair like that, and a mouth that _huge_? Somewhere in his head though, even though he refuses to recognize it, he knows that if his thoughts come true, he would take her back in an instant.)

They don't talk, except for when she makes snarky comments about him. (Sometimes, he feels like breaking something, or just grabbing her and kissing her, but he keeps up his I-don't-care attitude. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. Maybe if he say it enough times, it'll be true.)

And then, Holly Holliday comes in when Mr. Schue is sick. They end up singing Forget You which he suggested, and he swears that Quinn's dancing is directed at him. (He did _not _suggest that song because it fits what he's feeling. Okay, maybe a little, but he knows that he could never forget her, no matter how much he wants to.)

Later, they dance in the rain. It feels good to dance and just be close to her, even for a little while. They don't talk, but they don't argue, which Puck takes as a good sign. Mr. Schue seems to like pairing them up. He says it's because they have "good chemistry" and he needs to promote "second chances and forgiveness," but he thinks that Schue doesn't like the new kid. (He has a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with Bieste, but he's not entirely sure.)

He watches her as she fiddles around with things in her locker. She suddenly closes the locker door and starts walking down the hall, her Cheerios uniform tantalizingly short. Tennis ball boy comes up behind her and puts an arm around her waist. (His heart clenches in his chest. He wishes he didn't feel like this. It would be so much easier.)

Class is about to start. Puck doesn't care; he just has Algebra this period, and it's not like he needs Algebra to be a rock star. For some reason, his feet bring him to the choir room. The room is empty, and he can feel his hands itching to play. (Yeah, he can play the piano. His dad's a douchebag, but he did teach something worthwhile to Puck before he left: piano and guitar.)

He starts playing, letting his feelings flow into his fingers. He's startled to realize that he's played this before. (Only once, when _she _still lived at his house.)

He hums along, surprised that his subconscious still remembers. (So maybe, he wrote her a song. And maybe he played her that song. And okay, there aren't any lyrics, at least not yet, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?)

Lost in the music, he doesn't notice her there until she's right there, beside him on the piano bench.

"Quinn? Why aren't you in class?" These are the first words he's spoken to her in a long time.

She looks conflicted, but then all of a sudden, she's leaning in, and his mouth is moving to meet hers. It's over in a matter of seconds, but to him it feels like hours have passed. She pushes him away, but doesn't move to leave. (Is it just him or is she reluctant to stop?)

"Quinn?" He's so confused. She hasn't even looked at him in so long, and now she's kissing him? (Not that he's complaining, but seriously, what is even happening?)

"Why haven't you been talking to me?" He can hear her voice break, and next thing he knows, she's in his arms, crying. He's never seen her break down like this before, and he's scared.

He doesn't know what to do; he was never good with crying girls, especially _this _crying girl. So he does the only thing that he can think of, and hugs her, holding her tighter. He whispers into her hair, her blonde, blonde hair: "Don't cry, I'm sorry. Just don't... don't cry."

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**SO I'M THINKING OF EXPANDING THIS TO MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL 3 CHAPTERS I PLANNED. FEEDBACK?**

**OK SERIOUSLY THOUGH, TOMORROW'S EPISODE BETTER HAVE SOME QUICK. THIS SEASON HAS HAD A LOT OF PARALLELS SO FAR, AND LAST SEASON'S NINTH EPISODE HAD THE EPIC QUICK BAKING SCENE! PLEASE DON'T LET ME DOWN GLEE!**


	3. Chapter 3

Quinn's body is pressed against his and she doesn't even want to move. Her sobs have died down and she's sniffling into his shirt. It smells like him and it's so familiar, and so _Puck_, that it's almost enough to send her into another round of tears. He's still holding her, rubbing soft circles on her back, murmuring softly to her. She becomes aware of how close they are. She realizes that last year, he would have tried to make a move because of their close proximity, but he looks like the thought hasn't even crossed his mind. Only now does she fully understand how much he's changed and grown. (She also realizes how much she misses him, no matter how much of an asshole he can be.)

But she's dating Sam, and he has something with Santana, and she doesn't think she can fully _be _with him until she can get over everything that happened last year. (She wants to forget the events of the past year, but simultaneously, she also doesn't ever want to forget.)

She pulls away from him, trying to act with confidence instead of the reluctance she's feeling. She stands, tears pooling up in her eyes once again. She whispers an "I'm sorry" before running out of the room, leaving a bewildered looking Puck looking after her. (Oh God, what will happen now?)

-PQ-

Puck has no idea what is going on. Her question is left unanswered ("Why haven't you been talking to me?" seems to have the unspoken meaning of "Did you love me?") and all he wants is an answer to his: What the hell is happening? He wonders if he should go after her. (In all honesty, the odds of her bringing this up again are almost zero. He knows that going after her could make it worse; but his subconscious is saying, _It could also make it better_.)

He decides, _What the hell_, and he runs out right after her. (Maybe if he'd done this in the summer instead of avoiding her, things could have gone differently between them.)

He finds her outside, trying frantically to start her car. The sky is grey, and he can hear the faint rumblings of thunder beginning. He bangs on the windows, but she doesn't even look at him, instead starting to move the car out of its parking space. He has no idea what possesses him to do it (his heart is pounding in his chest; he wants to think it's adrenaline but he knows it's that forbidden l-word he tries to forget about), but he runs in front of the car's path, holding his hands up in a futile attempt to stop it. (And also to possibly shield himself from the pain that he expects to feel if she doesn't stop the car.)

But no, she slams on the brakes, and suddenly, the car door opens and slams shut and she's right in his face.

"What the fuck!"

He's shocked; he's never heard her swear like this before. She's jabbing a finger into his chest, and her face is infuriatingly close to his. He thinks it's mildly amusing (and incredibly hot) but damn, he's never seen her look this angry before. (Also, the swearing is kind of a turn on.)

He opens his mouth to speak, but she doesn't let him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

And suddenly, he's angry. The weather seems to reflect his mood, as the rain starts to fall, at first slowly, then increasing into a steady downpour. He's been asked that question too many times lately ("What do you mean you tried to steal an ATM? What the hell is wrong with you?") and he especially hates hearing it from this girl; this girl who unknowingly has his heart in the palm of her hand. Will she squeeze it until nothing is left except tiny, fragmented pieces or will she hold it gently and love it with her own? (Goddamn, when did he become such a pussy? He knows the answer though; it was when he was standing there with her, looking at their baby girl.)

"You know, I don't fucking understand you," he ends up saying.

"What?" She's looking at him, shocked. (She still looks beautiful in the rain.)

He continues, wanting to get all of his feelings off his damn chest. He's yelling over the sound of the rain. "You're like freaking bipolar or something. You don't talk to me for so long, but then you kiss me and expect me to just let you run away?"

"It was a mistake." (Hearing her say this hurts more than he thinks it should.)

"You can't run away from all of your mistakes."

"I can try though, can't I?"

"Not if I don't let you."

As she's turning to run back to her car, Puck lets his feelings take over, grabbing her and pulling her into a kiss. At first, she tries to get away, but his arms are around her, and she starts relaxing into him, her lips moving against his. They're both really wet, but he doesn't care and he knows she doesn't either. This kiss is just as sweet as the one they shared earlier, but the passion that they had been holding back was seeping into it. He feels her hands slide tentatively up to pull him closer to her. One hand is on the back of his neck, as if she is trying to put them as close together as possible, and her other rests on his cheek. He feels a sense of déjà vu: they're fighting and then they're kissing and he's reminded of the times last year spent doing the exact same thing. (Puck knows that their relationship is not even close to being fixed, but he thinks he can deal with that later. For now, he lets his mind blank out and just _feel_.)

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**I'M NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS. MY MUSE WAS KIND OF KILLED AFTER THE LAST EPISODE WITH BASICALLY NO QUICK WHATSOEVER, BUT I TRIED. I'M THINKING THIS WILL BE A FEW MORE CHAPTERS LONG. HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY THIS AND PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. Chapter 4

Quinn doesn't know what to do. All she knows is she needs to get away from him, from everything. (She wishes this was simpler, but nothing involving him is ever easy.)

She goes outside, running to her car. The sky is darkening, and she can hear the thunder beginning. As she tries to start her car, she sees a figure running out of the school. And oh god, why is he doing this? (If he just left her alone, maybe she could have forgotten about this. Maybe.)

He starts banging on the driver's side window. She refuses to look at him, knowing that if she does, she will have no choice but to stop. (Damn his stupid, attractive face.)

She is about to drive out of the parking lot when he runs in front of the car, stupidly putting his arms up as if to stop her. And suddenly, she's angry; angrier than she's ever been. What does he think he's doing? What right does he have to do this to her, to mess with her like this? (They have no chance together. So why is she feeling this flutter in her chest? Anger, she decides. He's always made her so, so angry.)

She stops the car, getting out and getting in his face.

"What the fuck!" She yells. (His face when she says fuck would've been comical, but the shock in his face just makes her sad.)

He opens his mouth, but she beats him to it, continuing with her rant. She lets out her thoughts, and it feels so good. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She knows there's something wrong. There's a flash of pain on his face, and then there's anger. The rain starts to fall. It starts off slow, but ends up coming down hard and fast. She now regrets doing this and is about to say sorry and leave when he says, "You know, I don't fucking understand you."

She's surprised, and she knows she's most likely gaping like a goldfish or something, but she never expected him to be so angry too. (She probably looks like one too; she's already soaked.)

She manages to say, "What?"(She can't help but notice his shirt is sticking to his body. She shakes that thought out of her head. Why is he so difficult?)

And then he's yelling things, things she never thought he would ever say. The steady beat of the rain falling threatens to overpower him, but it doesn't. "You're like freaking bipolar or something. You don't talk to me for so long, but then you kiss me and expect me to just let you run away?"

She refuses to think that this means he wants her as much as she wants him. He has to be playing with her feelings; there's no way he actually wants to _be _with her. She lies and says, "It was a mistake." (Nothing with Puck was ever a mistake.)

"You can't run away from all of your mistakes." She's surprised to hear this coming from him, but she figures it makes sense. (He didn't run away from her last year.)

"I can try though, can't I?" (No matter how much she wants him, she's scared; scared of what she feels when she's around him. She's scared because she can't seem to control herself around him.)

She turns to walk away, but he says, "Not if I don't let you," and then he's kissing her, their wet bodies pulled close against each other. Her first instinct is to break away (oh god, she can't be kissing him again), but her body doesn't seem to listen to her mind, and then she's pulling him closer to her, wanting him, needing him, to be as close as possible. (It's like a scene in a cheesy chick flick, but hey, she always knew he was a romantic at heart.)

-PQ-

Puck finally pulls away from her. He's still holding her close to him and she's looking up at him from under those eyelashes. He brushes her hair away from her face, and she bites her lip and smiles. (The lip bite is a good sign, though he wouldn't mind if she was biting his lip instead.)

The rain has come down to a drizzle but they're both already soaked. She gently traces his jaw, and he's about to lean in to kiss her again, but she whispers, "I can't do this."

He abruptly lets go of her. "What do you mean?"

"I just... I have Sam and..."

"You don't love him." This isn't a question; this is a fact. (If she loved Sam, she wouldn't be here kissing him instead.)

She doesn't answer.

He feels panic creeping in, and he says it again, more forcefully. "You don't love him!"

"I don't know yet." She's biting her lip again, and he just feels like crying.

"You can't keep on doing this to me."

She reaches out to him, but he moves out of her reach.

"No, you just..." He takes a deep breath. "You always choose someone else over me."

She's about to protest, but he won't let her. "Goddamnit Quinn, you know it's true. You chose Finn over me, and now you chose Sam over me."

"I didn't think..." She looks broken, but he continues relentlessly.

He cuts her off. "That's the problem, Quinn. You didn't think. You think that I don't have feelings or something but I do. I feel like fucking dying whenever I see you with someone else. And I don't understand why you won't choose me. I know I can be an ass, but I've changed."

Quinn is silently crying, and he wishes he didn't have to do this, but he needs to, he needs to make her understand how he feels.

He moves closer to her, taking her hand. "I want you and I want to be with you and I know you want me too because if you didn't, you wouldn't be here." (God, this girl made him so incredibly sappy.)

"Puck..."

He doesn't think he could stand it if she rejects him so he says the first thing that comes to mind, anything to not hear her: "I love you."

She's crying even harder now. "Puck, I..."

"You don't need to say anything right now. Just... Just know that I mean it. I meant it then and I mean it now." With that, he walks away, leaving her crying in the middle of the school parking lot.

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THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL FEEDBACK. THEY MOTIVATE ME TO WRITE MORE. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER.**


	5. Chapter 5

**OKAY, JUST CLEARING THINGS UP. SO FAR, THIS IS SET DURING FURT. SAM HAS OFFERED QUINN THE PROMISE RING BUT SHE HASN'T ACCEPTED YET. THE WEDDING HASN'T HAPPENED YET EITHER.**

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Quinn's not exactly sure how long they've been kissing and she doesn't exactly care; she just doesn't want to stop. (She wonders how she went so long without kissing him when it feels like _this_.)

To her surprise, Puck is the first one to pull away but he doesn't let go of her. He gently brushes a piece of hair out of her face. It's like the home ec room all over again and she wants to kiss him but she knows he stopped for a reason, so instead she bites her lip to stop herself from kissing him. The look in his eyes as he's looking at her reminds her of that day at the hospital; the emotion is evident in his face. She can't stop herself from tracing his jawline, just wanting to touch any part of him she can. (She's never wanted to be this close to a person. However, all of her rules change when that person is Puck.)

The rain has slowed and now it's only a light drizzle. And oh god, this makes her remember Finn and his stupid baby name suggestion and how she broke his heart and she knows that she will never forgive herself if she does the same to Sam. Puck is leaning in to kiss her, and she's so tempted to just let him, but she can't. Instead she says, "I can't do this." (It's a lie; she can, she just doesn't want to hurt someone who's in the way.)

He pulls away from her as if he's been stung by a bee or something. "What do you mean?" (She hears betrayal in his voice, and she hates that he thinks that of her.)

"I just... I have Sam and..." She tries to explain, but it's not coming out right.

"You don't love him." He states this like he knows it's true.

She doesn't want to lie, but she knows it will be harder if she admits it's true. So she doesn't say anything.

"You don't love him!" He says again, louder this time, more forcefully. There's a look in his eye that she's never seen before. (She realizes that he's scared.)

She replies with an "I don't know yet." She bites her lip. (Now she's just blatantly lying. She knows that she doesn't. She just needs to make this easier for now.)

"You can't keep on doing this to me." He's shaking his head, and she tries to reach out to him, to touch him, but he moves away. (She hates how vulnerable he sounds. He's not supposed to be the vulnerable one. If he can be like this, how bad will she be?)

"No, you just..." He inhales deeply, as if steeling himself for what he's going to say. "You always choose someone else over me."

She wants to deny it, but she knows it's true. It's like he's reading her mind because the next thing he says is, "Goddamnit Quinn, you know it's true. You chose Finn over me, and now you chose Sam over me."

"I didn't think..." Her voice breaks. (She honestly didn't know that he felt like this. If she knew, she wouldn't have done this.)

"That's the problem, Quinn. You didn't think. You think that I don't have feelings or something but I do. I feel like fucking dying whenever I see you with someone else. And I don't understand why you won't choose me. I know I can be an ass, but I've changed." (The look on his face is breaking her heart.)

Tears are running unbidden down her cheeks, and he seems to sense that she's sorry, that she wishes she'd known, because he comes closer again and holds her hand in his. "I want you and I want to be with you and I know you want me too because if you didn't, you wouldn't be here." (She never would have thought that something like this would ever come out of his mouth.)

She wants to say something to make it better, but she has no idea what, so she just says, "Puck."

And then he's looking at her like she's everything he's ever wanted, and she's scared to think that someone could feel this way about her. (Neither Sam or Finn has ever looked at her like this; she's not prepared at all.)

Three words come out of his mouth: "I love you."

Even he looks surprised by his words, which makes her cry even harder. "Puck, I..." (Oh God, what had she gotten herself into?)

"You don't need to say anything right now. Just... Just know that I mean it. I meant it then and I mean it now." (He squeezes her hand, and her heart breaks a little more as he walks away.)

-PQ-

Puck walks home. It's stopped raining and the sun is out. He feels refreshed, rejuvenated. He's finally told her his feelings and she can do what she wants with the knowledge; all he knows is that he can't do anything more. (He wishes he could though. He wishes there was something he could do that would guarantee her choosing him.)

For now, he'll wait and see what will happen next.

**

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ALSO HOW DO YOU GUYS FEEL ABOUT THE ALTERNATING POINTS OF VIEW? I KNOW IT MIGHT BE GETTING A BIT REPETITIVE SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO CHANGE THAT. ALSO, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!**


	6. Chapter 6

**SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE; MY MUSE RAN AWAY AND I'VE BEEN SWAMPED WITH HOMEWORK. I KNOW THIS ISN'T MY BEST AND IS MOSTLY A FILLER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GET SOMETHING OUT. DON'T WORRY, THE PLOT WILL MOVE ALONG FASTER IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PATIENCE AND THE FEEDBACK!

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Quinn is left in the parking lot. As if mocking her feelings, the sun is out and shining. There's even a freaking rainbow. (She wishes she could be as happy as the world looked.)

She goes to sit on the stairs outside of the school. She hears the bell ring but school is so irrelevant to her right now. She honestly does not know what to do. She wishes the choice would be easier. (_It is easy though_, her heart whispers. _Listen to me_. Her mind tries to block it out, _He'll hurt you_. But her heart counters with, _How can you be so sure?_)

What are her options? Well firstly, she can put herself on the line for Puck; for something that he might not mean. Yes, he said it twice, yes, he said he means it; but does he even really know _what _it means? (She's almost positive he only said it the first time out of obligation. She _was _carrying his baby after all. The second time... She's not so sure about.)

She knows they wouldn't make a good couple. They'd fight all the time, they'd disagree over everything, they'd call each other names and basically drive each other insane. (But after getting past all of that, she knows that they also bring out the best in each other.)

And then there's Sam, who's sweet and adorable and just an all around nice guy. This is the safe option, where she can keep her popularity and a guy who she knows cares about her. (She's not so sure about him loving her however. In her opinion, six weeks is not enough time.)

They have the perfect relationship, head cheerleader and star quarterback. Yes, it's cliché, and okay, it's a little reminiscent of last years Finn fiasco, but it works. He makes her happy and he does his best to make their relationship succeed, and so it does. (And okay, at first she was using him for his popularity, but now she actually liked him... Right?)

Earlier in the day, he even freaking _proposed _to her, complete with a charming speech and a promise ring. What girl wouldn't want that? (_You, because you want someone else_, her traitor heart sings.)

God, she has to stop thinking about this. Her mind is racing with possibilities, and she just wants it to end.

Suddenly, her phone buzzes. She reaches for it, and sees a text. _Quinn, it's Rachel. Come to the choir room_, it says. How the hell did she even get her number? Normally, she wouldn't bother, but she needs something to take her mind off of stupid boys, so she texts back, _Fine_.

When she reaches the choir room, she's not surprised to see Tina and Brittany there too. Figures this was some stupid glee girl meeting. It was exactly like this with that Madonna number last year too. (Santana's not there. She feels a little triumphant that Berry didn't include her.)

Rachel starts talking about Kurt being bullied and about how the girls should tell their football player boyfriends to help him out. Quinn immediately makes it clear that she's not dating Sam. (She doesn't know why; she practically is. A certain someone in the back of her mind begs her not too though.)

Everything Rachel is saying is so ridiculous, Quinn doesn't even know what to think. She adores Kurt, but using violence against bullies? That would just get everyone involved in trouble, and Glee club did not need that. (Also, why did Rachel seem so sure that the girls couldn't do anything? In her experience, guys listened to girls a lot more than they listened to guys.)

And then Satan barges in, demanding why she wasn't invited, like it's some kind of party or something. Rachel says that it's because she doesn't have a boyfriend, but Santana volleys back with, "I'm dating Puckerman."

Quinn can't stop herself from replying. "You're getting naked with Puckerman." (She knows she sounds bitter, but she can't help it. More proof that her and Puck could never work; he's too much of a whore to stick to one girl.)

Santana leaves, and Quinn just can't stay here any longer. She needs to make a decision, and she needs to make it soon.

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**WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK OF THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE? IT WAS ADORABLE, BUT I WAS HOPING FOR SOME QUICK BEFORE THE HIATUS. WHATEVER, I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD FEELING ABOUT THE REST OF THE SEASON, SO LET'S HOPE I'M RIGHT. **

**ALSO TODAY I WAS REWATCHING THE NOTEBOOK AND I REALIZED QUICK IS A HELL OF A LOT LIKE ALLIE/NOAH. THE WHOLE "WHAT DO YOU WANT SCENE?" IS SO PUCK/QUINN. AND SAM COULD SO BE LON IN THIS SITUATION. PLUS HEY, PUCK'S REAL NAME IS NOAH. JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SHARE. ;D**


	7. Chapter 7

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I HAVEN'T ABANDONED THIS STORY, I JUST HAVEN'T REALLY HAD TIME TO WRITE. IT'S ALMOST WINTER BREAK THOUGH, SO EXPECT MORE FREQUENT UPDATES.**

* * *

Puck isn't very excited to go to school the next day, his high from yesterday having died down. He'd spent the rest of the day fantasizing about what could happen between him and Quinn, his fantasies getting more and more vivid every time until he was sure that one of them would happen.

But then he'd realized that Beth was almost always involved in these fantasies. And that would never happen because their baby wasn't _theirs _anymore; freaking Shelby Corcoran had her now. (Puck knew he was just being bitter. He knew that Shelby would take care of Beth as if she was her own, especially because she'd gone through what he and Quinn had. He bet that she would even let them visit her, but could he go through seeing her and knowing that he couldn't have her?)

His dreams came crashing down. He couldn't keep Beth, what made him think that he could get Quinn back? (It's not like he ever really had her in the first place.)

If he really thought about it, he wouldn't be a great boyfriend. He'd never really been a _boyfriend _before. (No matter what Santana said, they'd never actually dated. Their relationship could be classified under "fuck buddies" at best.)

She seemed _happy _with Sam, even though he didn't like to admit it. If he actually thought about it, they were the perfect couple. (He thinks, _But what's the fun in being perfect?_)

He knew that Sam would never hurt her, would never cheat on her. (Not like he had.)

He knew that Sam would fix Quinn, make her better. Puck had already broken her, and he didn't need to come in and break her again just when she was finally getting better. (Her feelings were his priority over his. Again.)

Who was he to come in and break up their relationship? He'd never actually had a claim to her, besides being the father of her baby. He'd had his chance with her so many times, but he'd fucked it up time and time again. (He wished he'd called her in the summer instead of avoiding her. What the hell was the point of telling her that he loved her if he couldn't man up and face her after? And what the hell was he thinking when he went after Mercedes? He liked her and all, but she was no Quinn.)

Maybe it would be better if he just... stopped. Stopped trying so hard. Stopped making things worse. (_How can you when I beat faster every time you're near her_? His heart reasons. _How can you when I'm drawn to her whenever she's close?_ His body asks. _How can you when she just makes you better? _His brain wonders.)

Puck resolves that he'll just ignore her the next day, pretend that nothing happened, that he hadn't poured out his feelings to her once again. (He'd done this before and it hadn't worked, but there'd been no perfect blonde boy in the equation. Maybe she would be better now. Maybe the other boy could fix her.)

It's not like he even knows how she really feels about him. He might be throwing himself at her, while she's trying to think of a way to let him down easily. She never really made it clear what she felt about him. (_Oh, she just gave you her virginity and cared enough to ask you if you loved her. Obviously, she doesn't care at all, _his heart snorts.)

He might as well make it easy for her and just pretend like they don't exist; at least, not to each other. It'll be easier this way for both of them. (_Do you really believe that? _His heart asks. _Are you really that stupid? _His brain laughs.)

Puck walks into school, and obviously, she is the first person he sees. She looks at him, and gives him a tiny smile. He can feel his heart beat faster. How could he ever think that a girl as beautiful as her would ever be with him? (So what if he's a badass stud who can get any girl he wants? Almost any girl, he corrects himself. Being a badass stud isn't helpful if he can't get the girl that he really wants.)

She takes a step towards him, and she looks as if she's going to talk to him. Puck braces himself and walks past her like he's never seen her before. (_Ouch_, his heart winces. _And I thought I was just getting better._)

So much for this being easy.


	8. Chapter 8

Quinn thought she had made the right decision. She'd finally decided to go with her heart instead of her stupid overanalyzing mind, but it turns out her heart had been wrong.

She knew that Puck had fully seen her about to talk to him, but he had just walked past her like he didn't know her. Out of all the scenarios she'd been imagining, Puck ignoring her hadn't even entered her mind. Yesterday he'd seemed so intent on proving that he cared about her but now he was acting like he'd never seen her before. (She tried to ignore the _I told you so _in the back of her mind.)

If that was how he was going to be, then she could do it too. It couldn't be that hard to ignore him. Right? _Right?_

-PQ-

In Glee, she finds out that stupid Sam got into a fight with Karofsky. She thinks that it's nice for him to have stuck up for Kurt and Mike and Artie, but with Karofsky? The guy's huge, and he can easily get the puckheads on the hockey team to gang up on Sam and the rest of the Glee club. (_He _would have been in the locker room too. Why didn't he do anything about it? Not that she really cared. She's just curious. He usually never missed an opportunity for a fight, especially one where someone had hurt his friends.)

She ends up holding an ice pack up to Sam's black eye. She says that it makes him look pretty hot, which isn't really a lie; he does look even more attractive than usual. (It's not because now he reminds her of a stupid asshole that used to go to fight club and come back with bruises. It's really not.)

And then she hears said stupid asshole say, "You have no idea how hard it was for me not to jump into that beatdown." (Does she hear jealousy or is she just imagining it? She has to be imagining it; if he cared, he wouldn't have been avoiding her.)

She realizes that he didn't step in because of his recent incarceration in juvie. If he'd ended up in a fight so soon after just getting out, he would be carted right back to it. (She knows that it probably took all of his willpower not to join in the fight. Even though he still makes fun of the Glee club members, she knows that he cares about them and would try to defend them at all times.)

Quinn knows that he's a good guy. He's shown her time and time again how great he can be. However, Sam has been nothing but good to her this whole time, while Puck has had his fair share of asshole moments.

She knows that this should make it so much easier; she has Sam and Puck doesn't want her, but if anything, Puck's face fills her thoughts even more.

-PQ-

Later, as the club practices singing _Marry You _for Carole and Burt's wedding, she kind of wishes that she has a different partner. Sam dances really awkwardly and she wants a more competent dancer as they go down the aisles. (In reality, she wants her normal dance partner. Schue puts her with _him _for almost every dance routine, but for some reason, he's decided that all of the current Glee club couples will be partnered for this number. He says it's to show their _chemistry _or whatever, but she knows that she can pull off so much more chemistry with a different partner.)

But instead, he's with freaking Santana, who she's starting to hate even more now. They look so happy together, and she makes sure that whenever he looks at her, she's smiling and doing something ridiculously cute with Sam. (Is it bad that she wants to accept his promise ring because of the small chance that it might make him jealous?)

Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't they just decide what they really want? Why can't they just ignore each other and be done with it?

Quinn knows that their relationship has never been easy. They're so different yet so alike that it's almost a cliché; the Jewish bad boy with a heart and the Christian good girl with a bitchy side. But they _understand _each other, and no matter how much Quinn wants to say that her and Sam understand each other, they don't. (He compared giving up a baby to colouring his freaking hair!)

She had been so ready to choose him and break up with Sam, but that hadn't ended up happening. (He'd changed his mind again, and she doesn't like admitting it, but she wishes he didn't.)

* * *

**SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES. IT'S BEEN VERY HARD FOR ME TO COME UP WITH AN IDEA FOR ME TO SEGUE INTO THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY, BUT I'M GETTING THERE. I CHURNED THIS OUT SUPER FAST SO IT'S NOT MY BEST, BUT I DECIDED I'D PUBLISH IT BECAUSE I HAVEN'T FOR LIKE A WEEK. I HOPE IT'S OKAY. **

**DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK/CRITICISM/IDEAS. ;D**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE IF PUCK IS STILL ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY, LET'S PRETEND HE IS.**

* * *

Puck's not sure that his plan is working. He can't seem to avoid her, and he seems to see her everywhere he goes. He knows that this is affecting him more than he'd like to admit, and his friends are starting to notice. (He wishes he wasn't so damn obvious. If Rachel hadn't told Finn, he would have slipped up anyway.)

Finn, being Finn, decides to talk to him one day after football practice as they leave the locker room. (He's glad that they're best friends again, but he wishes Finn wouldn't call him out on his feelings.)

"Dude, what's going on with you?" Finn asks, that slightly confused look on his face.

"What do you mean? Everything's fine." He's lying so badly that he's almost positive Finn will keep on going and ask something awkward about how he _feels _or something. (He swears that Rachel has made Finn some kind of pussy or something.)

To his relief, Finn drops it as they walk out to the parking lot. As they reach their separate cars, Finn says, "You know you can talk to me about anything right?"

Puck replies with, "Yeah. I know." (This is also a lie. He can't talk to Finn about this. He knows that Finn likes Sam a lot, and the subject of Quinn Fabray has never been brought up between the two of them, both too afraid to bring up the girl that they both knew what it was like to love.)

Puck is glad that Finn has forgiven him for what he did last year. They didn't talk about it, but Finn had shown up at his house when Rachel had started dating Jesse St. Douche with beer and Halo, and since then, they'd been good again. (Puck figured it was because now Finn understood what it was like to want someone he couldn't have.)

And then, just his fucking luck, _she _appears, holding hands with that freaking blonde loser. He can't help but stare, like he always does when she's near. He thinks he's being discreet, but when he looks back at Finn, he's looking at him with a look of comprehension. (Finn Hudson can be pretty stupid, but he can be fucking smart when he needs to be.)

"Dude, you're so screwed." Finn says, following his gaze to the two walking to Sam's car.

Puck tries to play dumb, and says, "What are you talking about, man?"

But damn Finn gives him that freaking understanding look again, saying, "I know you like her."

Puck tries futilely to save himself. "No, I just think she's hot."

Finn is now looking at him with a smug smile, leaning back against his car. "Okay there, Puck."

Puck sighs, knowing that he's been beat. "Am I that obvious?"

"Dude, you've been moping around since you got back from juvie and saw them together. Hell, since... since Regionals." (Puck can tell that Finn was going to mention _Beth_, but he has the tact to change his words at the last moment.)

Puck decides that he should tell Finn on an impulse. "It's 'cause I love her."

Puck had expected Finn to be shocked or something, but Finn is just grinning that big idiotic smile of his.

"Yeah, I figured." Finn shoves his hands in his pockets.

Puck is confused. "What?"

"I just... I know what it's like to be in love. I mean, I'm in love with Rachel. And I've seen you and Quinn look at each other the way me and Rachel look at each other."

Puck only hears one thing. "She looks at me like she loves me?"

"Well yeah. Even now, even when she's with Sam. When she thinks you're not looking and Sam won't notice, she looks at you like... like you're the only person she sees."

Puck can't help but smile down at the concrete. (He feels like hugging Finn or something totally gay like that, but he doesn't.)

He asks a question that he always wanted to ask. "Did you ever love Quinn?"

"Yeah, and I think I always will."

Puck doesn't know what to say. (Instead of hugging Finn, now he feels like punching him.)

Finn lightly pushes him. "Not like that, bro. She was my first girlfriend, and she was pretty great... At least when she wasn't making fun of me and stuff. But like, that wasn't real love. I liked her, and I told her I loved her, but I didn't really _love _her, you know? But that stuff stays with you and now we're all in glee club, and we're like a family, and I love all of you guys like you're my real family." Finn is blushing slightly. (Puck's first instinct is to call him a girl, but he decides that he won't. This time.)

Puck feels like he needs to finally apologize. He squares his shoulders and says, "I'm sorry."

Finn has that stupid confused look on his face again. "For what? Did you and Rachel hook up or something 'cause dude, if you did..."

Puck cuts him off. "No way! You can keep your midget girlfriend all to yourself; I'm not into freaky diva girls who don't shut up. I just never really apologized about everything that happened last year... I figured it was time that I did."

Finn shrugs his shoulders. "It's cool. If I hadn't forgiven you, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. And I know that you wouldn't have... done that with Quinn if you didn't have some freaking strong feelings for her. I'm over it."

"Thanks." Puck struggles for a bit before adding, "I'm glad that we're friends."

Finn chuckles. "Love is turning you into a fucking pussy."

"Whatever, dude." (Puck kind of regrets not calling Finn a girl now.) "See ya tomorrow." Before he can change his mind, he grabs Finn into an awkward one-armed man hug before climbing into his truck. (He hears Finn laughing as he pulls away. He has a lot to think about.)

**

* * *

I'M SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT BETWEEN CHAPTERS. I THOUGHT I WOULD GET MORE TIME TO WRITE AS IT IS THE HOLIDAYS, BUT I'VE HAD EVEN LESS TIME THAN USUAL. ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE PUCK/FINN BROMANCE, AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW/CRITIC/IDEA. **


	10. Chapter 10

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, IT'S ALMOST EXAMS SO I'VE BEEN CRAZY BUSY. I HAVE FIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THIS, BUT I HOPE YOU'LL ENJOY.

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**

Quinn looks in the mirror. She's finally finished getting ready for the wedding. This is a big day, and she's happy that Carole even let her come after what she did to Finn. (Carole had been surprisingly understanding about the whole thing. Before Quinn had left, she'd said, "I don't like that you did this, but I know I would have done anything to take care of myself and my baby if I were you. Finn might be mad now, but he'll get over it eventually. He's a good kid." She'd looked at Finn and smiled, and Quinn had an ache in her heart: she wished her mother would look at her with just a trace of the love Carole's eyes carried for Finn.)

The doorbell rings; she knows it's Sam. She hears her mom open the door and greet him. (Her and her mother are still struggling to get along. They act civil towards each other, but barely talk; they're scared that they'll break each other.)

She walks downstairs slowly, trailing her hand down the banister. Sam smiles when he sees her.

"You look beautiful." He wraps her in a hug. (Quinn doesn't like that Sam throws around things like these all the time. Beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, I love you; she's heard it all. He says something like that everyday. Quinn thinks that it's more special if he uses these words sparingly, so that she knows he really means it, instead of it just being a habit.)

She smiles at him and says, "You don't look too bad yourself." (He honestly doesn't. He's cute and attractive in that blonde surfer guy kind of way. Honestly though, Quinn's more into the rugged bad boys.)

He grins even wider and laces her fingers together with his. They walk out the door to his car, Quinn giving her mother a curt nod as she leaves. (She still hasn't accepted his ring yet. She's not quite sure what she's waiting for, but she just can't. It doesn't feel right. The word _closure _echoes in her mind.)

* * *

They meet the rest of the glee club at the church. Quinn runs her eyes over all of them. They all look great, and she can't help but linger a little when it comes to _him_. (It's just an observation, but he looks _so _good in a suit.)

They've been ignoring each other studiously for the past few weeks. (Quinn likes to think she's getting over him but it's times like these when she knows it's not true. It hurts to see him with Santana. They look happy together and she thinks maybe he's starting to look at Santana the way he used to look at her.)

He turns and their eyes connect for a long moment; she turns away first. (She wishes she hadn't. It feels like she's lost something but she's not exactly sure what.)

* * *

The club is performing in about ten minutes. Everyone is seated and Quinn feels a rush of nervousness as she peeks out to see the crowd of people. She's never sang a solo in front of so many before.

She's by herself in a corner, trying to make herself feel more confident. She takes a few deep breaths and stays there, fiddling with the ends of her hair. She's about to turn around when she hears footsteps coming towards her. She expects Sam, and turns around expectantly to face him but is completely surprised when it's _him_.

"Hey." He shuffles his feet a bit and moves his tie uncomfortably.

Quinn has no idea what to say. (Put yourself in this scenario. What exactly do you say to the guy who you lost your virginity to when you cheated on your boyfriend with him; the guy who's the father of your baby; the guy who's had a million girls but who seems to want you; the guy who is currently supposed to be ignoring you so you can just freaking move on already? How would you even start?)

"Hi." (She always knew her intelligence would come through for her when she needed it.)

"I just wanted to tell you not to worry, okay? You're gonna do an amazing job and everyone will love it." He looks up from his gaze on her shoes and flashes a quick smile before turning to move away. (Noah "Puck" Puckerman, who makes fun of almost everyone he comes across, self-proclaimed sex shark, most confident guy she knows, hadn't just been looking at her face; not even her boobs or butt. He'd been looking at her _shoes_. What is going on? Was he _nervous _or something? No, couldn't be.)

"How did you know?" She asks. He turns, a questioning look on his face. "I mean, how did you know I was nervous?"

"When you're nervous, you always go off to like some corner to be by yourself. You face the wall and you take these big, deep breaths which make your whole body move. You hunch your shoulders a little and you start playing with your hair. Then, before you turn around, you shake your head like you're trying to forget what you're about to do, and you smooth down your clothes." He recites it like he's memorized a list. She knows she looks surprised, because he rubs the back of his head and says quietly, "You always used to do that before doctor's appointments... You know, when you lived at my house." (She hears an unspoken name hanging between them. She's glad he didn't bring her up, not here, not at the wedding.)

He continues, his voice low. She notices that he's still looking at her shoes. "I know I wasn't supposed to be there 'cause you wanted to be alone and stuff, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and not freaking out and crying or something."

She's still not sure what she should say. She just looks at him blankly. He looks up and drops his eyes again almost immediately, as if embarassed. "Yeah, so, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Uh... again, you'll do great." He gives her that quick smile again and wanders away to Finn, his hands now in his pockets.

Why does he always have to make everything so _hard_?

**I'VE HONESTLY ALMOST GIVEN UP HOPE FOR QUICK THE REST OF THIS SEASON. WHATEVER, THEY LIVE ON IN MY HEAD.**

**ANYWAYS I'M PLANNING A LOT FOR THIS STORY, THEY JUST HAVE TO GET PAST THE WEDDING. :P**


	11. Chapter 11

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR IT AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT, IT'S A BIT LONGER THAN THE OTHER CHAPTERS.

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**

Puck walks into the church uncomfortably. He's glad Burt and Carole let him come after all he's done to their sons. Yeah, he's friends with Finn again and he hasn't been hating on Hummel in a while but still. (He has to admit that Kurt's pretty cool once you get past his clothes. Who knew?)

Everyone in glee is there already except for Quinn and her freaking Ken of a boyfriend. He's still been avoiding Quinn and he just tries to forget that Sam even exists. He does try to be civil to him though, because he knows that Quinn wouldn't like it if he gave her boyfriend a black eye to match the one he still has.

He goes over to talk to Santana. They've stopped messing around with each other and are friends now. (Puck? Friends with a girl that he's not fucking? Yeah, he's surprised too.)

He's known her forever; fuck buddies first, friends second. Now, they'd just completely scrapped the sex part of their relationship and were just friends. They'd still go to each other's houses and still ended up in each other's bedrooms but they'd started playing video games and watching movies instead of doing anything else. (She was fucking kickass at Call of Duty.)

If anything, they were just keeping up appearances for their reputations. (This reminds him of another couple, but he tries to forget about that.)

They both want someone else anyway; it's obvious that she has a soft spot for Brittany and a thing for Finn, but he's not entirely sure which one she wants more and he's pretty sure she doesn't either.

She looks him up and down critically. "You couldn't have tried to dress better? It's a wedding."

He frowns. "I thought I did pretty good."

Santana gives him a look. (He thinks that her looks should be patented; she can convey anything with her face.)

He decides to mess with her a little. "You look pretty good though." He gives her a lecherous grin. "After this if you're not busy..." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and moves closer to her.

They're still entirely too flirty with each other, but that's just their personalities. They've been doing this forever and they both know it doesn't mean anything and probably never did.

"Fuck off Puck." She pushes him back, but she's smiling a little.

"This is a church! Watch your language, Santana!" Rachel says from behind, her hands on her hips.

Puck laughs as Santana moves away from her, muttering furiously to herself. "Where did she even come from?" A little louder, she says, "Did Mr. Schue die or something because last time I checked, he's the teacher, not you."

Rachel follows her talking about "the importance of respecting religion" while Santana sends her a murderous glare. (If looks could kill, Rachel would have been dead so long ago.)

Finn stands there awkwardly watching his girlfriend go after the girl he lost his virginity to. (Puck thinks that everyone in the whole school knows, except for Rachel herself.)

When Santana comes back, she starts ranting about Rachel and her "freaking dwarf ways." All of a sudden, she stops and looks over his shoulder. She squints a little, and says, "She's staring at you."

"Who?" Puck honestly has no idea who she's talking about, so he cranes his neck to see _her _looking fucking stunning in that red dress.

Their eyes connect and time feels frozen or something sappy like that, but she breaks their gaze after a second, turning away quickly.

He watches as she grabs onto Sam. Puck's noticed that everyone is coupled up. Glee club may be a family but damn is it an incestuous one. Everyone's dating someone except for him and Santana, who everyone assumes are sleeping together, and Mercedes and Kurt who are always freaking together anyway. (Seriously, dating Mercedes was like dating Kurt too, which was a big no-no for him.)

He never thought that he'd be longing for a relationship; he figured he'd stay single forever with a ton of different girls all the time. And then the thing with Quinn happened and now all he wanted was her.

"Puck. Puck!" Santana snaps her fingers in front of his face. He turns back to her, but he's still kind of in a daze. She's looking at him differently. "Huh. I knew you liked her but I didn't know you had it this bad." He just looks at her silently. "And you're not even denying it. Damn Puckerman, I'm glad I'm done with you; you're turning into some lovesick nice guy. Instead of Puckzilla, you should be Pucky the puppy."

This times it's Puck's turn. He smiles and nudges her. "Fuck off Santana."

All of a sudden Rachel is right there. Santana immediately walks away to Brittany, mouthing a "have fun" to him.

"Noah! I would have thought that you would have had more respect after I explicitly told Santana not to use foul language. Now I think..."

Puck interjects before she gets into her lecture fully. "Berry, can you go and take your supersonic hearing somewhere else? Go bother Sam... or someone else. Just not me."

"But he's not the one using inappropriate words in a place of worship!" Then a look of comprehension shows on her face and he swears to Moses that her face lights up. She looks at him knowingly. "Oh. I see."

"Huh?" He's confused as hell. (But he usually is whenever Rachel talks to him, so this isn't new.)

"You still like Quinn." She's looking at him smugly like she's just solved global warming with a toothpick. He sees no point in trying to hide it anymore; apparently he's more obvious than he thinks.

"Berry." He starts but she cuts him off immediately.

"I have to say I should have seen it earlier. You two have been incessantly ignoring each other which shows that there is some unresolved sexual tension that is occurring between the two of you. The fact that you want her but you're not going after her because of Sam shows a real growth of character from you Noah, because last year you had no qualms about doing that when she was with Finn. Also, you used to have no problem with Sam, but I've noticed that you try not to associate with him anymore, because you're jealous. I also think..." She says this all in one breath and he feels obligated to stop her because 1) her voice is getting harder and harder to bear with every word coming out of her mouth and 2) he's afraid she's gonna pass out from lack of oxygen and then Finn would kill him so he _cannot _let that happen.

"Rachel, I'm glad that you have this insight into my life or whatever, but seriously don't tell. I know you have a problem with secrets and stuff so... Please."

She looks shocked at his manners (it even shocks him a little) and it takes her a while before she starts talking again. (A while in Rachel terms - it's a whole two seconds.) "I'm very pleased with your politeness; it's another sign of your growing maturity. I must say that I think it's wonderful that you've grown up so much and matured into a better person. Don't worry, you two will get together eventually." She pauses, and she lights up again. "I'll help you! I love being a matchmaker and it's obvious that it'll always be you and Quinn, like it'll always be me and Finn." She looks over to where Finn is standing, Kurt and Mercedes seem to be singing and dancing around him. She smiles fondly, and Puck thinks she's pretty when she's smiling and isn't talking. (Still not his type, but at least he gets where Finn's coming from now. Though how he stands her endless chattering, he'll never know.) "Anyway, I must go start advising people and making sure they know what they're doing. so we will continue this discussion at a more appropriate time." She pats his shoulder and bounces (literally) somewhere else. He can already hear her talking. "Brittany, be careful! Don't break Artie; we need him for the performance!"

Puck wanders over to rescue Finn. (He wonders if he should warn him that Rachel may or may not rope him into fixing him and Quinn.) He hears Kurt and Mercedes singing what seems to be a freestyle about Finn's clothing.

"Uh, I'm gonna borrow Finn for a sec, kay?"

Mercedes looks disappointed. "We've only gotten to his tie! My line about his shoes was going to be hot!" Kurt nods in agreement.

"You can finish it later. Or not." He grabs Finn who looks vaguely bemused and drags him away. He looks behind him and sees Kurt and Mercedes closing in on Sam. Ha.

"Are my clothes really that bad?" Finn tugs on his pants.

Puck is saved from answering when Rachel runs past them yelling, "Ten minutes till show time!" Puck looks around the room at his fellow glee club members and notices that one is missing; the one that's most important in his opinion. He finally sees her by herself in a corner. Uh oh. He's seen this before, countless times. He decides he should talk to her just this once to make sure she's okay.

"Dude, I'm just gonna go over there okay?" He motions vaguely in Quinn's direction.

Finn smirks. "I knew you couldn't stay away from her for long."

"Shut up." Puck sticks his tongue out juvenilely before walking over to Quinn. He decides that Sam's a douche for not noticing that his girlfriend is nervous as hell. (Well he'd decided that Sam was a douche a long time ago but still.)

He gets closer and she turns around. She seems incredibly shocked to see him. Puck thinks he should have thought of something to say but he figures he would have forgotten it all anyway once he saw those eyes. He manages a simple "hey" but he can't help but feel a little nervous.

She replies with a soft "hi." (Oh god, _the lip bite_.)

Puck decides to look at her shoes. That's a safe place, right? He can't get distracted about how good she looks and how much he wants her and how much he wants to kiss her when he's looking at her shoes. (He thinks she has cute feet though.)

He starts talking so he doesn't seem like an idiot. "I just wanted to tell you not to worry, okay? You're gonna do an amazing job and everyone will love it." He decides to look up and risk a small smile. He's about to leave to tell Finn about how idiotic he just sounded when he hears her answer.

"How did you know?" He turns back to her. "I mean, how did you know I was nervous?"

He lists the reasons quickly, still looking at her shoes. He feels a little creepy knowing this about her, but he hopes it's one of those things that girls think are cute even though guys think it's weird. She looks even more surprised than before and he continues as a kind of explanation. "You always used to do that before doctor's appointments... You know, when you lived at my house." He rubs his head, feeling the familiar Mohawk under his fingers. (Quinn's still the only girl that's ever made him this nervous.)

He continues. "I know I wasn't supposed to be there 'cause you wanted to be alone and stuff, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and not freaking out and crying or something."

Now she's just giving him this weird look and he's pretty sure he screwed up so he tries to wrap up his rambling. "Yeah, so, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Uh... again, you'll do great." He smiles at her again, hoping the Puckerman charm will come through for him and shoves his hands in his pockets, walking back to Finn.

He hopes he didn't screw up their dysfunctional relationship even more.

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**A LITTLE BIT OF THE ENSEMBLE, I HOPE I DID THEM SOME JUSTICE. ALSO I ACTUALLY LOVE PUCK/SANTANA AND RACHEL/PUCK FRIENDSHIP. ROMANTICALLY THOUGH? NO. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE IDEAS, REVIEWS, AND/OR CRITICISM.**


	12. Chapter 12

**HAVE SOME ANGST.

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**

Quinn is currently incredibly happy. Their performance was amazing, and weddings in general just make her feel a lot better. (If she can't find love, at least other people can. Also, no, her interaction with Puck has nothing to do with her happiness. At all. Seriously.)

Burt and Carole's vows had been adorable, she had to admit Mr. Schue was pretty hot when he sang, and she was glad that Finn was finally stepping up to be a good brother to Kurt.

However, she now had a problem. She had come with Sam, but Sam had left early because of a family emergency or something. ("My mom freaks out over nothing all the time, just stay here and have fun!" A quick hug and kiss on the cheek and he was gone.)

Barely anyone she knows is here anymore. Everyone from glee is gone except for Mercedes, Kurt, Finn, Rachel, and _him_.

She decides to ask Mercedes how she's getting home. Unfortunately, she's sleeping over at Kurt's with Rachel and Finn while the newly married couple stay at Finn's old house for the night. ("We're basically there to cook and make sure that the stupid brothers don't fight over Project Runway or basketball. Oh, and I'm also there so Finn and Rachel don't sneak away to have sex or something.")

Mercedes directs her to Finn so that she can ask if he can drop her off. Regrettably, he's with Puck. She pointedly ignores him and starts talking to Finn.

"Hey Finn."

"Quinn." He grins goofily down at her. (Like seriously down. How much taller could this guy get?)

"Um, I was wondering if you could give me a ride home. Sam left, so I'm kinda stranded."

Finn doesn't respond for a minute, but then he suddenly smiles as if an idea just came to him. "No, can't, sorry."

She just looks at him strangely. (She notices that Puck is looking at him weirdly too. Just an observation, it's not like she's looking at him out of the corners of her eyes at every possible opportunity or anything.)

He seems to realize she needs an explanation, so he continues, struggling with his words. "I... uh... it's just... we're getting a ride with Rachel and you two don't really get along. I just... don't think it would work."

"Oh. I thought Mercedes said you were driving."

"Just a misunderstanding." He shrugs in what he seems to think is apologetic, but instead he looks like he's developing a twitch. He deliberates for a minute but then suddenly turns to Puck, whose eyes widen. "Hey, how about you get a ride with Puck? He lives pretty close to you anyway and he was just leaving!" She sees him wink at Puck, before pushing him towards her, a smile back on his face.

"No, it's fine. I'll just find my own way home." She turns to walk away, but Puck stops her.

"I'm not letting you go home by yourself. It's late and it'll be dark soon."

She turns back, a petulant look on her face. "I'm not a child, Puck. I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm not saying you aren't. I just... I'd feel better if I knew you got home safely." He's looking at her with an earnest expression on his face, and she can't help but soften at his words.

"Okay. Thanks." She gives him a small smile which he returns hesitantly.

"'Kay. Let's go." Puck says bye to Finn, whispering something quickly in his ear. Finn laughs at whatever he says before clapping Puck on the back. She waves at him, and she notices that he's looking at them like a proud father or something, which is mildly disturbing. Puck grabs both of their coats and she follows him out to his truck. (She tries to forget that the last time she'd been in it was when Puck had driven her and her stuff to Mercedes' house last year.)

He opens the door for her, making sure she's sitting comfortably, before closing the door and running to the driver's side. (He's being so sweet today, and she doesn't understand why.)

He starts up the truck and she's not surprised (and kind of glad) when he immediately turns on the radio, eliminating the need for small talk.

Forty minutes of not talking later, they're in front of her house. He opens the door for her and helps her out of the truck. She reaches in to get her jacket which she hasn't bothered to put on. All of a sudden, something falls out onto the street from her jacket pocket and Puck stoops to pick it up.

There's a horrible sinking feeling in her chest. She'd broken into Sam's locker to get it - a skill she'd acquired from living with Puck. She's still not quite sure why she'd done it, since she sure as hell isn't planning on accepting it but it makes her feel good to have tangible proof that someone cares that much about her. (She knows there's possibly someone else who cares that much about her - maybe even more - and he's currently standing right in front of her. But she can't trust him. No matter how much she wants to.)

Puck is staring at the ring like he wants to throw it back on the ground. His voice is dangerously low when he speaks. "What the fuck is this?"

"A ring. Can I have it back?" She puts out a hand for it, but he closes his hand around it tightly.

"Who gave it to you?" His mouth grits out the words through clenched teeth.

She doesn't answer but he continues on anyway. "It was fucking Sam, wasn't it?"

She still doesn't reply, but he's looking at her with his brow furrowed and she knows he expects an answer. "Yes." She whispers out the word.

"I fucking knew it. I heard rumours but..." He exhales sharply. He calms down a little before asking his next question. "So you guys are together then?"

She's about to answer but he continues on. "I fucking knew you wouldn't pick me." He chuckles darkly and shakes his head.

She replies quietly. "I was going to choose you." He's looking at her intensely now. "The day after we kissed in the parking lot... I was going to tell you. But you just ignored me and you've basically been ignoring me since then and..."

"Whatever." He cuts her off, his voice rough. "You probably only felt bad for me or something. I should have given up when you gave Beth away. You didn't want your kid, why would you want me?" He barks out a harsh laugh.

Now she's fucking furious. How dare he! "Don't you dare bring her into this. You have no right to be using her as an argument-"

He interrupts her once again. "I have no right? You gave our fucking kid away! I have every right to be mad about that. Fuck, you know I wanted to keep her. I would have. But you never wanted her, you never loved her-"

She can't take it anymore and she slaps him across the face. He doesn't react, but she sees him clenching his fists tighter. She doesn't care if they're making a scene in front of her house; she doesn't care if the neighbours see; all she wants is to hurt him like he's been hurting her. Her tone matches his as she speaks. "You cannot turn this all on me. You don't know how I felt giving her up. Okay, I never planned on having her, but I loved her. I still love her."

He looks as if he's about to speak, but she continues. "You know, maybe I would have kept her if I knew that you would step up to be a father, someone _better_, instead of some guy who sleeps around and steals and-"

This time, he's successful in cutting her off. But he doesn't sound angry, he just sounds earnest and sad and she thinks she'd rather deal with the anger. (At least it's more familiar.) "What? Someone more like Finn? Like Sam? I'm never going to be like them, Quinn. I'm always going to be me. But you can't tell me I didn't change. I changed for her; I changed for _you_."

"Did you? Maybe you did for a little while, but you think stealing an ATM means that you _changed_? That going to juvie made you a better person?" (She tries to make her voice strong, but it betrays her and trembles as she speaks.)

"I tried to steal an ATM because... because I thought that maybe if we had enough money, we could get her back, we could take care of her. And it was stupid, but at least... At least I felt like I was doing something."

She can feel herself tearing up, but she refuses to let him see her cry.

"You can't ignore the fact that we had a baby together. Her name is Beth and she's beautiful and she looks like you and me put together and-" His voice cracks and she swears his eyes are wet, but he ducks his head down to stare at the sidewalk. "This is never gonna work, is it? No matter how much I try, you're always going to want more and more. And you know, I get it. I'm never gonna be good enough." He looks up, into her eyes. (His are dry. She sees a resolve in them she's never seen before.) "But... it's okay. I'm done. I think all I needed to do was talk to you about Beth. And... and that's done so I'm not... I'm not getting involved with you anymore. That day at the hospital... I thought I loved you, but I think I just loved Beth. I mean, she's my kid, and you're her mom so... After she was gone, you were the closest I could get to her. And I'm glad I finally figured that out 'cause I'm wasting my life on you and you're not even worth it. Just go off and live a perfect life with Sam or Finn or anyone that's not me. I'm done."

Puck drops the ring and clambers into his truck. He drives away, leaving Quinn outside of her house. She finally lets the tears spill out and run down her cheeks. (This is ridiculously familiar to her, but this time, it's even more heartbreaking then before and seems much more final.)

* * *

**I FINALLY WROTE THE BREAKDOWN. I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS, IT WAS PRETTY HARD FOR ME TO WRITE. LEAVE A REVIEW, CRITIC, OR AN IDEA. :)**

**ALSO, I WILL STILL BE WRITING THE ALTERNATE POVS OF SOME EVENTS. SORRY IF IT'S GETTING REPETITIVE BUT YOU CAN JUST SKIP OVER THE REPEATED PARTS IF YOU'RE ANNOYED. **

**BY THE WAY, I HATE WHAT THE WRITERS HAVE DONE TO QUINN. IT'S LIKE THEY'VE JUST ERASED ALL OF HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. AND I'M SERIOUSLY HATING PUCK/LAUREN. THOUGHTS? **


	13. Chapter 13

Puck is surprisingly enjoying the wedding. Normally he doesn't go for sappy stuff like this, but he can see that Burt and Carole are genuinely in love, and he's happy that they're happy together. (However, he would never admit that shit out loud.)

Their performance had gone great and the reception is pretty cool. He has to admit that Finn singing to Kurt was pretty cool. (However, he could have dealt without watching Quinn and Sam happily dancing down the aisle, or being nauseatingly cute during _Just The Way You Are_.)

He's talking to Finn when all of a sudden, _she's _there. He can tell that she's pointedly not looking at him, so he makes it a point to stare at her harder. (Not that this is a problem, he could stare at her forever honestly.)

She asks Finn for a ride, but surprisingly, he rejects her. He makes up some bullshit excuse about Rachel not liking Quinn, even though even Puck knows Rachel wouldn't deny her a ride home. (He also knows for a fact that Finn _is _the one driving everyone home, so why is he lyin- Oh shit. He knows that look. He better not be doing what he thinks he's doing...)

Finn is looking at him, smiling widely. "Hey, how about you get a ride with Puck? He lives pretty close to you anyway and he was just leaving!" He winks sporadically and pushes Puck towards her. (Fucking Finn, why were they friends again?)

Quinn decides to be all, "I can take care of myself, even though it's dark outside and there could be killers and rapists, and I could get hurt and stuff." (That's not exactly what she says, but that's what Puck interprets her to mean.)

He's tired of her goddamn self-righteousness, so he says something that's not exactly badass, but who cares, it's Quinn. (He can't just let her leave by herself, and it has nothing to do with the fact that him driving her home means some time with her alone. He wonders where the fuck Sam is. What kind of guy would just leave without their girl?)

He's glad he says it, because her face softens into that smile of hers. (He feels his heart speed up just a little bit. It must be the heat.)

He says bye to Finn, whispering an "I'll kill you later," in his ear in what he hopes is a menacing voice. Instead, Finn just laughs and claps him on the back, pushing him once more towards Quinn, all the while still grinning like an idiot. (No seriously, how is Finn such a douche?)

Puck decides that he should step his game up and be a gentleman or whatever. (He knows chicks seriously dig that shit, and after their talk earlier, he feels kinda confident.)

He grabs both of their coats and opens the door to his truck for her. He decides that he'll turn on the radio to make this less awkward for both of them. (He's scared that if he tries to make small talk with her, he'll just fuck everything up and she'll never talk to him again. He's taken one chance already today, and he doesn't want to take another one, not today.) It doesn't matter if they don't talk anyway - just being here together makes him feel a lot better. He thinks it should be uncomfortable, but it's not. (It reminds him of late night junk food runs, with her insisting on coming with him "just in case I see anything else I want." He tries to forget about that though. He always tries to forget.)

They're in front of her house entirely too fast for his liking. (Even though it'd taken forty minutes with Puck going under the speed limit taking the long way.)

He's holding the truck door open as she goes to grab her jacket. As she pulls it closer to her, something falls out and he reacts on his instincts, stooping down to grab the object.

And holy fuck, is this a _ring_? He can't stop staring at it. A fucking ring. He'd heard that Sam had given her a promise ring, but he hadn't thought that she'd actually accepted it. All of these emotions are raging through him right now; hurt and anger and sadness and he just needs to express it.

He tries to be civil, but he can't. He's fucking _tired _of being second best, of always being the last choice. He wants to tell her how she's breaking him and hurting him, and see if she feels any guilt, but he doesn't want her to know how much she's hurt him, not when she obviously doesn't give a fuck about him. (He tries to ignore how she said that she was going to choose him and how he could have ignored this whole mess if he'd just confronted her after that day.)

So he's harsh, and he brings up Beth. (Beth has always been a taboo topic between them ever since they gave her up, but he feels like he should bring her up. They need to talk about it eventually, and he knows they shouldn't be talking about her like this, but god, his emotions always get the best of him and he just wants to make her feel guilty and hurt her like she's been hurting him all this time.)

She yells at him and he yells back but he knows he's crossed a line because Quinn's face seems to crumple before settling into resolve. He's expecting the slap but it's still a shock when her hand hits his face. It hurts him to hear her voice filled with the same emotions he's feeling.

It's like she's rubbing it in his face that he's not good enough and he's just emotionally spent. He can't take the anger anymore and he knows he sounds sad as he answers, but who the fuck cares? He's fucking miserable now. He's also fucking done. Done with her, done with everything. He can't take being hurt so before he leaves, he delivers a parting blow. (Who would have thought that driving her home would turn into this fiasco?)

He tells her that he never loved her, that he's wasting his life on her, that she's not worth it. (This is all lies. He loves her and always will, she sure as hell isn't a waste, and she's worth so much it's ridiculous. He knows he'll regret this sooner or later - probably sooner - but Jesus, he's too hurt to feel bad about this right now.)

"I'm done." (He'll never be done with Quinn, but for now he feels like he is.)

He drops the stupid ring before driving away. He can't help but look in the wing mirror where he sees Quinn still standing where he left her. (He's tired of leaving her, but what the hell is the point when she so clearly doesn't want him?)

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**I WROTE THIS SUPER FAST. IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS I WISH IT WAS, BUT I FIGURED I'D PUT SOMETHING UP SINCE I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.**

**ALSO, GLEE TOMORROW! LET'S KEEP THE HOPE FOR OUR SHIP ALIVE!**

**DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE REVIEWS/IDEAS/CRITIQUES. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

THIS STORY IS CURRENTLY ON HIATUS.

I CANNOT STAND WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH QUINN AND QUINN/FINN AND PUCK AND PUCK/LAUREN.

PUCK AND QUINN SEEM TO HAVE LOST ALL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND ALL THE FEELINGS THEY HAD FOR EACH OTHER IN SEASON 1.

I WOULD ACTUALLY HATE IT IF QUINN AND PUCK GOT TOGETHER NOW BECAUSE I STRONGLY DISLIKE BOTH CHARACTERS RIGHT NOW.

I DON'T FEEL LIKE WRITING THEM FOR A BIT BUT I KNOW I'LL GET BACK TO THIS EVENTUALLY SINCE QUICK IS STILL MY FAVOURITE COUPLE. EVEN THOUGH MY LOVE FOR THEM HAS GONE DOWN, I'LL PROBABLY COME BACK TO THEM SOON.

(BUT SERIOUSLY BRITTANY/SANTANA IS GROWING ON ME. THEY'RE RIDICULOUSLY CUTE. I MEAN I LIKED THEM BEFORE BUT I WASN'T LIKE FULLY INTO THEM BUT AFTER TONIGHT'S EPISODE, OH GOD. AND SANTANA IS FAST BECOMING MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER.)

SORRY ABOUT THIS GUYS.


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